In this article, I will guide you on how to grow the Bird of Paradise plant from seed.
In my last article, I explained: Plant, Grow and Care for Bird of Paradise Plant and now I will share my experience on growing BOP from seeds so that you can easily propagate bird of paradise from seed.
Your first step: Collecting good quality seeds
If you already have a bird of paradise plant then that's a winning point.
The seeds you will collect from the plant will look like this:
You can see the orange fluff on every seed. Make sure you remove those from the black seeds with your hands. It will speed up the germination of your seeds when you sow them.
If you buy the seeds online, you might also get those orange or yellow fluffs. Just remove those. After removing it will look like this:
Now move to the next step.
Make a nick in the seed, or a small cut, or rub the seeds
This step is really optional but is necessary if you are impatient like me.
If you look at the seeds closely, you can see a small bump on each seed. Just rub that on the paper or you can use a nail cutter to make a nick. Be careful while doing this. You just need to make a small cut in the outer hard shell. If you do so, you can notice a white part inside the seed. The water needs to be absorbed by that white part. It will make the germination process a lot faster than natural germination.
I have sown multiple seeds at once, and those nicked seeds germinated a lot faster than the normal seeds.
Water soaking
Now, take water in a bowl and leave the seeds in the water. Try to put the bowl in a warm place.
Keep the seeds in the bowl for 4-6 days.
Sow the bird of paradise seeds into the soil
Take out the seeds from the water. Prepare your soil with a good drainage system.
Use potting mix if possible. Then use your pinky finger to make holes in the soil.
Sow the seeds 3 cm deep and spray water on the soil. That's all you are done.
It can take up to 2 weeks to see the little sprouts coming out.
Bloom development phase
| Stage | Timeline | What Happens |
|---|---|---|
| Bud Emergence | Day 1 to 60 | A rigid, bluish-green spear shoots up from the leaf fan. |
| Sheath Formation | Day 60 to 90 | The bud turns horizontal, forming the classic "beak" shape. |
| First Bloom | Day 90 to 105 | The first brilliant orange and blue petals push out from the sheath. |
| Full Continuous Bloom | Day 105 to 120+ | Multiple flowers emerge in succession from the same beak, lasting for weeks. |
Here are a few pictures of the seeds with seed buds of bird of paradise:
Bird of Paradise seeds and seedpod
